Tourist information office, calle Fortuny 21, 952-67-54-44, [2]. Near the Plaza de Toros, but far from everything else. A better choice is to go to the Tourist Information kiosk outside the Casino Militar on the main plaza, Plaza España.

You are in Spain. People speak Spanish. But you are also in North Africa, and many people speak Tarifit (Spanish: rifeño, a variety of Berber). French is also widely spoken amongst the Moroccans in Melilla.

From Morocco. Melilla is completely surrounded by Moroccan territory (and the sea), and this is obviously a very sensitive border. Many try to cross illegally into Spain, with dire consequences. Crossing legally (in either direction) is also an eye-opening experience, but presents no particular difficulties if you are not transporting counterfeit goods or hashish.

Don't forget that Spain and Morocco are in different time zones, so, on crossing the border into Melilla, you will lose one hour, or two hours in April and May (Morocco only started to observe daylight saving time in 2008).

Moroccan train operator ONCF has three trains daily between Taourirt and the Beni-Nsar Port train station, about five minutes' walk from the border. Connections are available at Taourirt with trains to Fès, Rabat, Casablanca, and Oujda.

Or Zoruah Synagogue, calle López Moreno 8. Arabesque architecture, designed by Enrique Nieto in 1924. Downstairs a tacky bargain shop, but the façade is well-preserved. Visits can be arranged through the Tourist Information Kiosk on the Plaza España.

The city is full of café/bars but the liveliest part is the Puerto Noray, opposite the big Hotel Puerto Melilla, which has many restaurants, bars and nightclubs. And all of the bars look over the marina.

Catch a bus from the Plaza de España to the Moroccan border, 2km to the south. Cross the border into the Moroccan customs and security area and line up at the police kiosk to get your passport stamped. This can take a while. Be sure to go up to the window and ask for an entry form to fill out (in French, Spanish or English) while you wait. Be careful for scammers trying to sell you these forms or trying to "help" you fill them out. They will just run off with your passport.

When you get out you will be in the village of Beni Enzar which has the port of Nador (with sailings to Almería or France), where you can find banks (just next to the port) or a collective taxi to the city of Nador. Remember to turn your watch back one or two hours!